Who am I to disagree with the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, however, Mr. Speaker, the President is not engaging in class warfare. The President is trying to have us confront the inequalities that exist in our society, not just brush them aside and consider the status quo.
Earlier this week, Speaker Boehner came out and charged President Obama with attempting to pit Americans against each other in class warfare. The claim of engaging in class warfare has been the primary indictment of late from the right. Apparently, addressing a vital issue, and not ignoring it by saying: “it is just part of free market capitalism” is class warfare.
Facing our economic issues, and not running from them will help solve our current crisis. With unemployment still high, even with a increase of 1.4 million private sector jobs according to Politifact from June 09 to September 11 we are still at best making a sluggish recovery. The decrease of 572,000 public sector jobs in the same timeframe could be one culprit, however, the genuine mindset of Republican obstruction and austerity has created a political event that no administration could work with. The causes for our current economic situation is no longer pertinent to fix the issue. We need solutions, real solutions to fix the climate we are in. Tax cuts, deregulations and dismantling government agencies won’t fix our problems. They are little more then talking points, which are only useful for ideological impasses.
This obstruction and refusal to compromise on anything has created a toxic atmosphere on the hill. There is no reasoning with the Republicans, nor with the base they represent. These Conservatives cannot accept change, or compromise. The system we have had since the early 80’s has benefited the wealthiest Americans and their will be no deviation from that plan. No matter what deregulation has done to our economy, it must continue. It is all they know on the right and it is all they want.
When we faced racial inequalities, we confronted them. Americans refused to continue the flawed logic that the government had no right to interfere with discrimination, or my favorite: “It’s a state issue”. No one in their right mind can accept Ron Paul’s argument against the Civil Rights Act of 1964: “the forced integration dictated by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 increased racial tensions while diminishing individual liberty.”. In essence, forcing southern states to integrate took away their freedom to segregate. Fortunately for America, we did not buy into this lunacy. Freedom should not infringe on the rights of others. As far as segregation, or discrimination goes the best answer we have comes from the Warren Court: “Separate but equal is inherently unequal.”
It amazes me that the Republican party, created in 1854 to combat slavery, is so willing to force a new form of slavery on the American people. Now through their demand for a even less regulated market then we had during the Gilded Age, the GOP is creating a new slave like environment for the American worker. If you follow the logic of corporate personhood, it creates the corporate slave master in the mansion on the hill while the working and middle class toils in the fields. If you consider corporations people, which Mitt Romney does, one could claim that the corporate person holds the individual person in a state of de facto slavery.
By calling any effort to increase revenue from the so called “job creators” Speaker Boehner, has created a title of nobility for the top 1%. Not every small business makes over a million in sales, in actuality approximately 3% of them do. Furthermore, approximately 1% of all American have incomes exceeding one million dollars. The Republicans have elevated this small group of untouchables into royalty through the misnomer of the term “job creator”. It is absurd to think that all millionaires are job creators, almost as absurd to claim that the occupy movement is full of anarchist and marxists trying to destroy America.
Divide and deceive has been the tactic of those in power for centuries. Terrified that one day the body politic will catch on to the deception and ask why, those who crave power have needed to divide and deceive the people to maintain their control. Americans have been dumbed down, lied to and deceived for so long it is hard to know what the truth is anymore. Reclaiming the American dream is within our grasps and the Republicans are terrified that it can be achieved with Democratic policies. If we only unite we can reach out and grasp what has been taken from us.
